Starting a music career in mid-life is a mixed bag. I have known quite a few people including students of mine who have tried this over the years.
Singers wonder "am I too old to become an excellent singer? and "am I too old to make it?"
A voice, especially a male voice, (females have more complicated issues due to hormones) in their mid fifties, without years of wear and tear from a professional career is a "younger" voice physically than a voice of the same chronological age that has been used for decades, and therefore capable of some things that mature artists are not at that age.
A voice, especially a male voice, (females have more complicated issues due to hormones) in their mid fifties, without years of wear and tear from a professional career is a "younger" voice physically than a voice of the same chronological age that has been used for decades, and therefore capable of some things that mature artists are not at that age.
There should be no problem casting lower voices such as baritones and basses who often portray older characters anyway in often supporting a capacities, there should be no logical reason to not take a chance and cast a well trained older singer in such a role. An inexperienced fifty year old lyric coloratura in a a leading ingenue role when scores of perfectly trained experienced twenty-five year olds are available, not so much, but older mezzos in character roles, and unusual dramatic voices, perhaps.
That being said, the biggest obstacles are, not only the prejudices of those who hire, but also the difficulties that older individuals have taking the direction and constructive criticism that developing artists need at an age when it is normal to receive respect for past accomplishments.
There is also the issue that people who have lived their extensive professional lives in the "normal" world have problems with *the realities of the music world*. Generally, in the "ouside"world you invest money and effort and you pretty much have an expectation of a reasonable return on that effort.
In music and show biz, people usually pay a lot of dues and receive what seems like almost no return(if you are comparing to other pursuits) and civilians just don't understand.
Mature adults pursuing music in "all their spare time" don't realize that there are an army of people spending every waking hour on accomplishing their dreams and have been doing so for years. They see that they themselves have spent thousands on lessons and coachings and see this as a huge investment, but young people in conservatories, higher ed, etc are spending maybe ten times as much!
My advice to my mature students and mature emerging singers is, if you were born to sing, do it now, you will never be younger than today. If you don't enjoy your lessons, practicing, performing on whatever level you are on, don't do it because it is not an investment you will probably get back in terms of money, or glory. In fact if you are doing this to feed your ego and ambition you, will certainly be miserable. That is true of singers and performers of any age!
That being said, the biggest obstacles are, not only the prejudices of those who hire, but also the difficulties that older individuals have taking the direction and constructive criticism that developing artists need at an age when it is normal to receive respect for past accomplishments.
There is also the issue that people who have lived their extensive professional lives in the "normal" world have problems with *the realities of the music world*. Generally, in the "ouside"world you invest money and effort and you pretty much have an expectation of a reasonable return on that effort.
In music and show biz, people usually pay a lot of dues and receive what seems like almost no return(if you are comparing to other pursuits) and civilians just don't understand.
Mature adults pursuing music in "all their spare time" don't realize that there are an army of people spending every waking hour on accomplishing their dreams and have been doing so for years. They see that they themselves have spent thousands on lessons and coachings and see this as a huge investment, but young people in conservatories, higher ed, etc are spending maybe ten times as much!
My advice to my mature students and mature emerging singers is, if you were born to sing, do it now, you will never be younger than today. If you don't enjoy your lessons, practicing, performing on whatever level you are on, don't do it because it is not an investment you will probably get back in terms of money, or glory. In fact if you are doing this to feed your ego and ambition you, will certainly be miserable. That is true of singers and performers of any age!
You will, however, get the HUGE payback of being able to do what you love and do it at the highest level you can, if you continue, and you will never regret that, if you truly love to sing!
Enjoy the journey!
Enjoy the journey!
